Don't expect North Korea to disarm: Ex-Obama aide

Washington: The former top White House official on counter-proliferation says diplomacy is unlikely to get North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and the best to hope for is a verifiable freeze in its production of fissile material.

Gary Samore, who resigned from his White House position in January, on Monday said it's not practical to achieve nuclear disarmament unless there's a change of leadership in Pyongyang or a fundamental change in the strategy of its ally China.

Samore told a forum on US-Korean affairs that a more attainable goal is a moratorium on nuclear and missile tests that would delay the North's progress toward having a weapon that can hit the US.

North Korea has offered to negotiate after months of provocations and a February nuclear test.